Lincoln City Council has to make cuts following announced public spending reductions from central government, with the pest contro...
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In an attempt to cut costs, the City of Lincoln Council have decided to scrap its loss-making pest control service, after it's expected to make losses of around £16,000 this year.
A council report said that demand for its pest control service was almost 75% down on previous years (842 vermin treatments in 08/09 and 218 in 09/10). The authority did not take large incomes from the service either. Actual income for 09/10 was £4,523, around half of the projected income.
The service provided by the council delivered pest control treatments to residential customers within the city but did not treat public open spaces or commercial properties.
A notice will be served to the current contractor, and the service should be closed effectively by the end of this year. Councillors said that there is already a market available to meet the needs of Lincoln residents for pest control.
The duties of the pest control service will now be taken over by private subcontractors and the council's Environmental Protection. However, a council report claims that the Environmental Protection team does not have the capacity to absorb additional work from the scrapped service. The report also predicted more loses if the council would have kept the pest control service on for another year, therefore costing more to run.
By law, the council has a duty to deal with issues of vermin, whether or not it operates its own pest control service. In 2009, the City Council tried to reform the pest control service, introducing a £40 fee, and a 50% reduction for those on benefits.
Scrapping the service does mean that those on benefits no longer have access to a pest control service at a lower concessionary rate.